Belfast International Ballet Festival
The organisers of the Belfast International Ballet Festival put in a lot of effort and hard work to present an event that celebrates ballet and highlights Belfast’s potential as a ballet hotspot, and they succeeded. The students of High Points Youth Ballet prove that Northern Ireland is a place where ballet talent can grow and flourish. They have as much potential as those in the other corners of the United Kingdom and the festival gave them the chance to share their talents with local audiences and artists from overseas. They are committed students who have been trained well by their teachers and they gave more than promising performances, particularly the senior students. Not only do they bring skill in their technique, but also in their acting: they did not forget when they needed to be playing characters and telling stories. Those especially worth mentioning include Amelia Larmour, Madison Crawford and Georgia Crawford. Each took on several roles in the festival, including variations and roles as the bridesmaids in the Don Quixote Suite, which they each danced with good-level technique, but their highlight was their performances in the second act of Giselle.
Amelia gave a commanding stage presence as Myrtha, capturing the Queen of the Wilis’ merciless nature and presenting a good jump, a vital requirement for the role, and Madison did well to capture the ghostly elegance of the obedient second-rank wili Zulma. Georgia presented a very touching performance as the tragic Giselle, proving to be a good actress, especially when she begs for Albrecht to be spared and when she bids her final farewell to him. The role of Giselle is a challenge as it requires the ballerina to present an airy, spirit-like presence, but Georgia did well to accomplish this task and making the role her own. These three students are among the top produced by the teachers of HPYB since its founding and there are high hopes for their futures. Amelia and Madison are still training at HPYB; Madison will be training in the Royal Ballet School’s summer insensitive next year for the second year in a row, and Georgia is now training at the Conservatório Internacional de Ballet e Dança Annarella in Portugal. The dancers of Second Chance Ballet are of different ages and skill levels and the choreography was, in many respects, simplified, but they all gave performances that were worthy of the applause they received. What mattered was that here were people who love ballet doing something they love and proving the point of Second Chance Ballet’s mission. Anyone can dance and it doesn’t matter if you’re a professional or not: the world of dance can make room for anyone.
The festival was made all the more special and successful thanks to the participation of the professional dancers, making this a perfect opportunity to promote professional dancers from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and to strengthen Northern Ireland’s overseas connections and firmly place it on the map as a ballet hotspot by engaging international dancers. Anna McCoy proved herself to be more than a promising dancer with stellar performances, first, in the piece After/Before choreographed by Ruaidhrí Maguire, which she danced beautifully and sent the piece’s sorrowful message to all those watching. Ruaidhrí also proved his abilities as a dancer and choreographer; his performance of his own piece was delivered with excellence, showcasing his own technical qualities and his individuality as an artist and storyteller, and his partnering of Anna was superb. After/Before is a beautiful piece that delivers the message of love, loss, sorrow and grief. Anna later returned to give a performance of one of the variations from the Paquita Grand Pas Classique, which she performed technically well with energy and fire.
Rachel Neale showcased technically accomplished dancing and acting skills. In her two performances of the Swan Lake Pas de deux, she presented Odile in all her wickedness, which she added to with elegant swan arms and nice lines. In the Don Quixote Suite, she appeared as a sassy Mercedes, bringing some fiery flare to the stage as she danced in between the cups (instead of knives), successfully avoiding knocking any over. Stephen Everson is also a fine dancer and actor, appearing in the Grand defile, as Prince Siegfried and as the love interest of Mercedes. He and Rachel were well-matched as partners. In the Swan Lake Pas de deux, Stephen partnered Rachel strongly and the pair had good chemistry as they told the narrative of Odile deceiving the helpless Prince Siegfried. In the Don Quixote Suite, their chemistry came to light again as Mercedes flirted with the young man and showed her annoyance when she caught him flirting with two other girls.
Luc Burns is a beautiful dancer with accomplished technique, buoyant jumps, strong pirouettes and clean footwork. His Swan Lake variation was a joy to watch, but his highlight was his performance as Albrecht. He performed the role with technical brilliance and strong acting, making us feel the pain and remorse of the sorrowing Duke. He also partnered Georgia well, especially in the challenging pas de deux.
But the performance that really brought the house down was that of Oleksii Kniazkov and Elizaveta Gogidze in the Don Quixote Pas de deux. The pair have performed in many different corners of the world and this was their début in Belfast, which was a success in its own right. They both danced with strong technique and a grand partnership that shone through in the éntree and adage. Oleksii was especially dynamic in his jumps, bringing explosive energy to his variation as he soared across the stage, and his tall, muscular build makes him the perfect partner for the big one-armed overhead lifts in the entrée, which he performed with such ease. Elizaveta performed her variation with clear footwork, musicality and beautiful lines, and in the coda, she could’ve set the stage on fire with her fouetté sequence, which she performed at a wonderful speed and finished in a perfect fifth position en pointe. A performance of such fieriness, it’s not surprising that on both nights, they got the biggest cheers and rounds of applause.
Epilogue To summarise, the Belfast International Ballet Festival was a real success for several reasons - it was Belfast’s first ballet festival; the hard work and effort of those who put it together paid off; it showcased the talents of members of the Irish ballet community and it brought in international artists to perform with local talent. The festival proves vital to the future of ballet in Northern Ireland because it proves this is a part of the world where ballet can further grow and it also contributes to the cultural side of the city of Belfast. The performing arts has always thrived in Belfast and by introducing this new event, the city’s place as a cultural hub is expanding nationally and internationally. I share the aim of Rana, Jake, Anna and Argyo for this festival to become an annual event and increase Belfast and Northern Ireland’s role in ballet. On a personal level, this whole experience is something that I am incredibly proud of. I’m so proud that such an event was able to be arranged and take place in my native country and I’m more than honoured to have been a part of it. I have given lectures to the students of HPYB in the past and they’ve always been such a great group to teach, so it was wonderful to be invited to give another history lecture as part of the festival. But for me, the icing on the cake was that I was able to help arrange for Oleksii and Liza to be a part of the festival. Since meeting them two years, I have seen them perform on several occasions but to have them come to my home country and perform in front of my home audience is one of the best things that has ever happened. I’m really proud of them for their stellar performances and even more so that I could introduce them to those from my local ballet circle.
I hope that this opportunity will attract more people, especially young people and children from across Northern Ireland to the art form, and that the aim for a vocational school and company can be achieved. I have watched the students of HPYB perform in several of their school performances and they always prove their talents, but this occasion was different because the scale was bigger, but it was another successful performance for them and the festival brought so much happiness to all those who were part of it and all those in the audience. The Belfast International Ballet Festival was a bright jewel in the crown of Belfast’s cultural events and is one that deserves much recognition. May we all soon see the second festival and may more from the ballet communities of Ireland and overseas - dancers, choreographers, critics, writers, historians, photographers, etc - be brought to Belfast to be part of and experience another magical event.